London Summer Pop-Ups and Events

From rooftop supper clubs to late-night markets, the summer months in London welcome a host of new events that are simply not possible during the rest of the year. Here LondonTown.com outlines the best summer pop-ups and events taking place around town.

Designed by the Eden Project and run by Company of Cooks, the Queen Elizabeth Hall Roof Garden is the place to be on a summer's evening for stunning sundown views over the Thames. On the roof of Queen Elizabeth Hall, next to the Hayward Gallery and in the shadow of A Room for London, the garden bar has the same appeal as New York's High Line - wild flowers, graffiti and a seat on the grass in the middle of the concrete brutalism of the Southbank Centre. Come for pre- or post-theatre drink or just enjoy a Pimm's as the sun sets. It's what summer in London is all about.

A floating park in the Paddington Basin brings a beautiful green space to a forgotten section of the Grand Union Canal. Former Royal Horticultural Society Young Garden Designer of the Year Tony Woods led the design, creating the Floating Pocket Park as a decked garden and unusual green space; a peaceful oasis for people to enjoy. Reviving the canals, once the arteries of this part of the city, the floating platform includes a pavilion to provide support for plants and shade for visitors as well as an events area which can accommodate up to 120 people. Open lawn areas, nectar-rich mixed raised borders, communal seating, decked platforms and walkways not only encourage wildlife but also create a park where you can miraculously walk on water.

Themed around a British urban lawn club, Skylight combines croquet and petanque with street food and cocktails on the rooftop of Tobacco Dock. Set on the top three levels of a former car park in Wapping, the 600 capacity Skylight has multiple bars, three croquet lawns, two petanque courts and street food stalls, all set against some of the finest views in the city - you can see The Shard, The Gherkin and The Walkie Talkie from here. When it comes to eating, East London burger maestros, We Serve Humans, are offering their famous Chairman burger and Greek street food brand, Yiro, create mouthwatering souvlaki.

This year, the Udderbelly Festival and London Wonderground merge together to form the Underbelly Festival. Taking place in the same South Bank location as the two former festivals, the multi-arts extravaganza presents London's largest programme of affordable comedy, circus, cabaret and children's shows in a city festival environment with street food and one of London's largest outdoor bars. Highlights on this year's programme include the London premiere of Driftwood from acclaimed Australian circus company Casus; the London premiere of popular Edinburgh Festival Fringe show Flip FabriQue; and the UK premiere and longest ever London run from cult boylesque cirque-cabaret act Briefs. The line-up also welcomes comedians James Acaster, Sara Pascoe and Ed Gamble.

After its glorious summer last year (the most Instagrammed pop up of summer 2016? - we think so) Pergola on the Roof is back. This time the rooftop food court on top of a car park at BBC Television Centre is bringing a slice of Long Island living to Shepherd's Bush. Done up to look like The Hamptons, the al fresco food court also brings in new restaurants with Breddos Tacos joining Patty & Bun, 8 Hoxton Square and Bonnie Gull spin-off 'Salt 'n' Sauce'. With white-washed decking, palm trees and thirteen person day-beds, it's the perfect place to enjoy summer in The Hamptons without leaving London.

The Queen of Hoxton's seasonal rooftop parties have become a legendary addition to the capital's event calendar and this year is no different with a Viking-themed addition to see Londoners through winter and Neverland inspired offering for the summer. Open from the beginning of May, Bangarang invites generation Peter Pan to a land where dreams are born and time is never planned. Forget adult responsibilities and run away to a world of imagination and escapism, where instead of growing up you can lounge in a seashell with mermaids, refill your glass at The Lost Boy's hideout bar and climb aboard the pirate ship to meet your fate. Sip on special cocktails such as the Mermaid Slushie, made with frozen prosecco, fruit juice and blue curacao; the Floating Fairy absinthe cocktail; or the Blue Lagoon, made with gin, lemon and blueberries. Mermaid shots served in clamshells will also be available as well as Never Never Land Ribs, a Bangarang Burger and Peter Pan Prawns. This is what dreams are made of.

Enjoy a staycation this summer with a visit to Fulham's first Thameside beach, which brings together everything you would want from a paradise island holiday. Complete with white sand, palm trees, pastel painted beach huts and swings, Neverland London offers a unique, affordable alfresco experience. Booze is BYO while street food is provided by the likes of Le Rac Shack, The Duck Truck and Taco Dave. Guests will be able to dine on long feasting tables under a canopy of flowers, bask in the sun in the deck chairs or hire out one of the beach huts. There will also be pop-up shops, ice cream, a chance to create your own cocktails and a Beach Butler service.

The much-loved Last Days of Shoreditch is back for its seventh year in 2017 with three months of street food, art, music and a clue solving mini adventure experience. Events are part of the attraction and as well as 'Plumbottom's Magnificent Return' - a fun, frantic five minute pop-up which challenges teams of two to three players to help the ghost of Plumbottom - the XOYO DJs take up a Saturday daytime residency, Lucky Voice are in charge of karaoke and the Riviera even brings its own urban beach, overlooked by palm trees and decking. Look out for Artwork's Art's House pre-party, Maribou State hosting an exclusive pre-party as well as summer sessions from Stuart Patterson, Phil Mison and The Dr Orders. Food comes courtesy of Nanny Bills serving burgers and croquettes as well as Belli Freschi, a new veggie pop up from local Italian restaurant Bottega Prelibato.

There's no need to venture far for a trip to the beach this summer as the Brixton Beach returns. The ultimate urban beach, it's inspired by the vibrant culture of Cuba and transports guests to a colourful paradise through cocktails, street food and entertainment. Sip on rum daiquiris, pina coladas, cubanitos and mojitos under beautiful hanging foliage, watch the sunset from the Chandon beach side lounge bar or salsa the night away in the Clubhouse, which is inspired by famous nightclubs such as La Floridita and La Bodeguita del Medio. The beach will host rotating foodie pop-ups throughout the summer as well as weekly film screenings, chef residencies and Ministry Does Fitness exercise classes including daily sunrise and sunset yoga.

London Riviera is a pop-up food and drink experience bringing Miami beach and the French Riviera to More London Riverside (on the Southbank next to Tower Bridge) all summer long. In 2017 free entertainment comes in the shape of live screenings from the Royal Opera House, blues-soaked music by Liam Bailey and Massaoke (that's mass-karaoke) with a live band every Friday in June. Enjoy a Brazilian samba, dance and music spectacular with a 50 piece band, swing dancing with Swing Patrol and an interactive street-style circus show by the Flying Seagulls Project.

Described as "the kings of the outdoor cinema experience" (Tatler), The Luna Cinema continues its tradition of pairing setting and story at twenty London locations. To mark the start of The Luna Cinema summer series, on Wednesday 14th June at Embankment Gardens, there's a pre-screening party sponsored by Alpro who'll be serving ice cream and cocktails in a twinkling urban hideaway nestled away from the hustle and bustle of Embankment. Tropical bounty-bowls will be served in raw coconuts and you'll get VIP seats for the outdoor screening of Dreamgirls, ten years after the Beyonce-fronted musical first hit UK cinemas. Across London The Luna Cinema is showing its popular screenings of Jaws at Brockwell Lido, where VIP ticket-holders watch the film from dinghies in the water. Other season highlights include screenings of Cocktail at One New Change, Breakfast at Tiffany's at Kenwood House, Ghostbusters at Kew Gardens, The Goonies at Kensington Palace, and Groundhog Day at Greenwich Park.

Taking inspiration from Barcelona's cava bars, Fiz offers an affordable drinking experience in the heart of Soho. Stepping away from the pretentious bubbly stereotype, the pop-up sparkling wine bar provides a refreshing alternative to pricey champagne bars and takes residency in the suitably unpretentious Lights of Soho gallery for eight weeks this summer. Run by talented trio Barnaby Lewis, Max Bigland and Jordan Nadian, who bring together backgrounds in the hotel, food and sustainability industries, the bar offers a well thought out, original drinks menu with prices starting at as little as £4.50 - unheard of in this part of town. Despite the low prices, the quality and passion are evident with an intriguing menu ranging from classic cavas and refreshing rosés to the more unusual sparkling red and pet nat. Food wise, diners can choose from a series of dishes that have been chosen to perfectly complement the wines. From cheese and meat boards to mini brioche buns - one featuring the team's delicious homemade pastrami - it's all intended for sharing and eating with hands. At the weekend, guests can choose from a selection of brunch dishes such as avocado on toast, a grilled cheese sandwich and buttermilk pancakes with the option of bottomless bubbles, of course. For a fun and tasty experience that won't break the bank, be sure to head to Fiz this summer.

Every Sunday in July Regent Street is banning traffic for the popular Summer Streets series. The month-long event will see every Sunday take on a different theme, including transporting, health and leisure, garden party, and fashion, with a huge range of activities to ensure everyone and all tastes are catered to. Details for this year's festival haven't been announced yet but last year's event gives an indication of what to expect. In summer 2016 we had Transported By Design - an on-street showcase of transport design through the ages; Health and Lifestyle - when wellbeing experts hosted a fun day of fun, fitness and leisure; Garden Party - with British food and music for the ultimate garden party; and Fashion with Magnum - a 16 station ice cream dipping bar descend on the street. Watch this space for updates on this year's line up.

Moving to Worship Street in Shoreditch for the summer, the Shuffle Club gets an outside space from July to September; perfect for soaking up the rays while you shuffle. After a successful winter pop up at the Truman Brewery, the club continues to convert Londoners to this social sport - a mash up between ten-pin bowling and curling, where you get to wear your own shoes. Dating back to Henry VIII's time, Shuffling comes to London via the States - the game has taken grip in the fashionable warehouses of Brooklyn and Miami, according to London Shuffle Club founder Graeme Hawkins. Decor at this summer pop up is Miami-chic with palm trees and flamingos as well as cocktails, pizzas and DJs plus seven full size shuffleboard courts.

A car boot sale with a difference, the Vauxhall Art Car Boot Fair 'reboots' for 2017, moving to The Workshop. This year, the one-day festival has new artists and a new theme, with over one hundred traders selling exclusive pieces from the boots of both new and vintage Vauxhall cars. Sought after artists such as Sir Peter Blake, Gavin Turk, Pam Hogg and Marcus Harvey are among those on the line-up and will all present original artworks at bargain prices. This year's theme is The Original so visitors can expect rare opportunities to snap up genuine and exclusive bargains.

Not so much a sporting occasion as a celebration of buffoonery and ineptitude, orchestrated by The Chap magazine for gentlemen (and gentlewomen) of good taste, The Chap Olympiad is a spiffing non-sporting event. Bedford Square Gardens, centred on one of the best preserved set pieces of Georgian architecture in London, is a fitting backdrop for such a distinguished gathering. All events can all be entered by members of the public - as long as they're not sporting sportswear. The Chap Olympiad includes zany showdowns like Umbrella Jousting, using bicycles and brollies instead of horses and lances, and the Tug of Hair in which a rope is substituted for a lengthy handlebar moustache. Yikes! There will of course also be sandwiches and lashings of Pimm's.

Championing the staycation since 2012, Camden Beach returns this summer rebranding as Roundhouse Beach. Bringing a slice of the Caribbean to London with a beach (real sand!) and a BBQ, this time they're going a step further and putting up a big screen for two weeks of the summer. Opening on 15th July 2017, they're starting with free screenings of the Wimbledon finals, followed by cult classics, new releases and family-friendly films, with matinee and evening screenings most days. As well as films like The Goonies, Arrival, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Frozen and T2 (Trainspotting) they've got everything associated with a beach holiday - sand, pop-up restaurants, bars, deckchairs, beach huts, beach games and cocktails. The screenings will run until 29th July while the beach will be open for all to enjoy from 1st-28th August.

Celebrating the opening of the new Battersea Power Station development, the six-week Power of Summer Festival brings an eclectic range of activities to Circus West Village. Each week of the festival will take on a different theme, with entertainment including free hula hopping, boxing and dance classes, pre-Edinburgh shows from Matt Richardson and Iain Stirling (the voice of Love Island), a scooter festival, a roller disco and immersive theatre. There will also be plenty of family fun, including mask making, entertainment from a three-wheeling cyclist and the chance to listen to some of London's youngest and most talented musicians as part of Gigs, the Mayor of London's annual busking competition for 11-25-year-olds.

Encouraging adults to embrace their inner child, super seed brand 9Nine presents The Playground. Drawing attention to the importance of play time, no matter what your age, the two-day event will see London Fields taken over by giant slides, super see-saws and jumbo swings along with other playground favourites. The adult-only experience will also feature DJs, refreshments and 9Nine snacks. The healthy eating brand believes that nutritional food is just one aspect of a happy, well-rounded day and they're going to showcase how social interaction, imagination, fun and laughter can help with mental and physical health.

Bringing together comedy, theatre, poetry, dance and much more, the Camden Fringe boasts over 250 different productions and (some very odd) shows across more than 20 venues in the north London borough throughout August. Whether you want to enjoy a sarcastic comedy on the daily struggles women face, a show that blends clownery with pantomime and porn or a play set in a post-Brexit alt-reality, the festival has it all. The rapidly growing four-week festival is offering fresh opportunity for both new and established acts to get themselves noticed in a creative environment outside Edinburgh. Rather than being centred around the high street, venues cover the whole borough of Camden, from the Etcetera Theatre and Camden Head to the Tristan Bates Theatre and Camden People's Theatre.

The London Craft Beer Festival returns for its 5th year in 2017 and is moving to a new venue in Hoxton Square. The Shoreditch Electric Light Station - a beautifully converted old power station, which is now the UK's leading circus school - will play host to over 45 breweries and more than 300 beers for the event. There will be an area dedicated to eight local East London breweries including Hackney Brewery in Haggerston, 40Ft based in Dalston and CRATE in Hackney Wick. Breweries from further afield include Dugges from Gothenberg, Stillwater Artisanal from New York, Sierra Nevada, and Brooklyn Brewery. As well as enjoying the kaleidoscope of tastes and flavours modern beer has to offer, there will be food from Berber & Q, Morito and Gunpowder, shuffleboards plus music from Foals, Hot Chip and Norman Jay as well as the festival's resident DJs.

Producers of the largest yoga lifestyle events in the world, Wanderlust present the world's only mindful triathlon this summer. Taking place in Victoria Park, Wanderlust 108 involves a 5km run (or walk), an outdoor 90-minute yoga class and a guided meditation. There will also be free scheduled aerial yoga, acro-yoga, hooping and walking meditation classes as well as live music and DJs, artisanal vendors selling everything from clothing to jewellery, local food and plenty of further activities.